Monday, October 01, 2012

Welcome Ray Bradbury To Your First October In Heaven

Welcome Ray Bradbury, to your First October in Heaven!
the pumpkin hallowed angels sang
and scarlet fringed, crowned, laureled, old friends, new-

refrained from story-telling for a while
when Ray got up to speak:
Poe, the others, Dickens, surely-
Washington Irving…Hoffman, E.T.A.
Evgeny Zamyatin.  Fellini…

it's such a ravishing day
I’m glad I’m here
where it’s always frosty morn and bright cerulean;
the corn’s forever shorn, the dreams fresh-tassled …
vita-nuova green
there’s spearmint in the drizzle!

and me without my hat or a spigot!

Significant are the pies:
I’ll have a few of this and that…

and light is always misting for the missed
who’ll join us, soon enough.  Sweet Margery smiled
at his ebullience, Ray, self-styled the same but glorified

and more than ever, twice the child his cheeks all chipmunk
plumped with candy corn
(no calories now, he chortled, not that I ever cared)

here’s my best jagged jack o’lantern grin for far away fans-
I’m all out-of -doors forever!
in the crispest apple pie fluted air;

Here! Have a wedge please, to begin
the wide-eyed crystalized candied Fair
that never ends; the cotton candy that can’t disappear

(or friends, and that’s the best of all he sighed, but happily);
the hot dog mustard relish partaking, sure, you bet!
and smothered in onions.

the wild blue lightening half-way tamed into
and that quick out of the bottle  and tangoing,
chock full of harmless tricks.  and rabbiting scarves of rainbows broken off-
merely for Party favors…at His behest…

 a little higher up than I remember
that Ferris spitting fireworks near the crystal  tent of God
could make the bees knees turn to jelly
where the gold-leafed leaves blow over randomly
the wine dark purple stars…then linger on.

(and John Keats smiled.  And Shelley.)

 mary angela douglas 1 October 2012

No comments: